Kolkata: It was a night to remember for former India captain Virat Kohli in Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday. The birthday-boy brought up his record-equaling 49th ODI century during the match against South Africa. While the world congratulated Kohli for his feat, there was the Sri Lankan captain Kusal Mendis, who refused to congratulate the former India captain. During a pre-match press conference in Delhi ahead of their game against Bangladesh, Lankan captain Mendis was asked by a reporter if he has anything to say about Kohli getting to the feat. To this question, Mendis said why should he make any comment. Here is the video.
#INDvsSA srilanka captain kusal Mendis about Virat Kohli 49 th century pic.twitter.com/82mPZUPvt5
— jogarao (@AjithPaila) November 6, 2023
From outside, Virat Kohli’s record equalling 101 off 121 balls against South Africa on Sunday might look a bit laborious, but Indian captain Rohit Sharma termed the innings as one that suited the conditions and the match situation.
Kohli’s 49th ODI hundred paved the way for India’s 326 for five on a slightly diffident Eden Gardens pitch, which proved way over the par in the end.
“If you look at how we have played in the last three games, we have adapted better. Today, we needed Kohli to go out there and play to the situation. We then knew we had to keep it in the right areas (with the ball) and let the pitch do the rest,” said Rohit during the post-match presentation.
The Indian team will now take on Netherlands on November 12. The Rohit Sharma-led side has already made it to the semi-final and are at the top of the points table.
